Cannoli siciliana

12 Cannoli

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
-JUDI M. PHELPS
****DOUGH****
1¼ cup All-purpose flour; sifted
5 tablespoons Marsala; (or use any other fortified wine)
1 tablespoon Superfine sugar
pinch Salt
12 Metal cannoli tubes;(cannoli forms may be made from 1-inch aluminum tubing cut in 5-inch lengths if commercial forms are not found)
Fat for deep frying
****FILLING****
2 cups Ricotta cheese; as fresh as possible
½ cup Superfine sugar
¼ cup Candied fruit; citron, orange peel, etc., finely diced
¼ cup Pistachio nuts; coarsely chopped
¼ cup Semi-sweet chocolate; cut in fine dice (optional)
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract OR
Orange flower water; optional

Directions

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl, make a well in the center, and add the wine and sugar. Work the flour into the center until you have a rather firm dough, something like noodle dough. If the dough is too crumbly add more wine, but do not let it become sticky. Place dough on a lightly floured pastry cloth or board and knead it and pound it vigorously for about 15 minutes. It should be perfectly smooth by then. Form it into a ball, wrap in a clean, slightly dampened cloth, and let it rest for 2 hours. When it has rested, roll it out on the pastry cloth or board until very thin (no more than 1/16 inch). Cut it into 5-inch squares and roll it around the metal tubes as follows: take a square and place it before you diamond fashion; one of the points toward you. Place the tube vertically across the middle of the diamond, each end at a point of the dough.

Fold the sides over the tube, moistening the overlap with a little water and pressing together. When all the squares have been thus rolled, place them, a few at a time, into deep fat preheated to 375 degrees F. Remove them when they are golden brown (tongs are best for this, as the rolls are fragile) and let them drain on absorbent paper. When they are cool, slip off the tubes, and fill with the ricotta filling.

Press the ricotta through a fine sieve into a bowl. Beat it until it is creamy and smooth. Beat in the rest of the ingredients with a large fork. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tube (or merely use the nozzle, without a tube) and pipe the filling into the cooled shells. Makes 12 cannoli. Source: Great Italian Cooking by Luigi Carnacina.

Shared and MM by Judi M. Phelps. jphelps@... or jphelps@...

Related recipes